revelation.

it's all about Jesus.

leadership.

so i've been reading for the past couple weeks the book Organic Leadership by Neil Cole. Creating a church movement that spreads like a virus, creating an epidemic that reveals the Kingdom of God. Becoming an organism that is alive and moves fluidly whichever direction it naturally flows. There are three things that never change which is it's DNA.

Divine Truth. Nurtering Relationships. Apostolic Mission.

Organizational leadership is designed for one person to make decisions for all and delegate mission to those under the authority. Christ is always the head of the church. This is where all the functions and authority come from.

So I was thinking about what this would look like. I was thinking about the other people who have decided to become "full time" ministers. Those of us who get paid either to teach God's Word or some who put programs together to help the church function. (just some light cynicism, nothing to be concerned about.) In the church, those who attend services or are part of the body look to the title or positions held as authority. Mostly the people will follow the leaders even if they don't know the person or aren't even passionate themselves about where their going.

So what if the goal was to get rid of paid positions and titles in the church? What would that look like? The head would be Christ totally and all decisions would be made solely to bring God's Kingdom here on Earth. The body, with all different parts, becomes passionate about doing things that suit their purpose. All programs that exist are ran by people who have the same passions. The church wouldn't come together to vote, but come together to be and exist and move and bring light to a dark world.

truly incarnational.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 2 Corinthians 4:10-11

As we remember Christ, just as through the eucharist, we remember that we become Christ. Rob Bell says in Jesus wants to Save Christians that the "given over" is important here. Paul is speaking of the healing in the world and how when we identify with the suffering of our neighbor and we commit ourselves to doing something about it, it will cost us something.

So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Corinthians 4:12

That's how the eucharist works. For someone to receive, someone has to give... the church is the living eucharist.

church marketing.

i at first liked the idea of marketing. coming up with creative ideas to sell your product. i think i just liked the creative part. i am just not comfortable trying to "push" the church or Jesus on someone. i was trying to think of any organizations or business' that don't advertise or spend any money trying to get people to buy their product. there aren't many.

does the church try to "push" itself into people's lives because the product is not that good? what happens when you sell and it doesn't live up to the standards that you had to offer? what if we spent our time living it out instead of hyping it up?

weezer - pork and beans.

if you're a dork like me you'll recognize the references to the viral videos. 

new christ-mas.

i'd love to see where we go this year. in the past all i believe we have gone is to ourselves. the only thing we've done, and not to downplay it, was last year we cleaned out our closets and gave our coats. We were able to collect over 40 coats which was awesome. I know it takes time to think if you have an extra coat and maybe a little more to actually look and then bring it to church but what if this year we moved.

We're looking to collect 50 coats and blankets this year for a couple homeless shelters. That's nice. no, truly, it's a beautiful thing. But we also have the hope that we can make a difference in the lives of two people who work with Scott at OE. If everyone in the student and college ministry gave a present to each of these guys, that would be an awesome Christ-mas. With the love feast and the party for these guys from OE, it's gonna be awesome.

inadequate.

the more i come to know the call and will of G-d, the more and more i feel inadequate. especially since i have come into a position where Jesus instructs Peter to "feed my sheep," there the call resonates in my ears as well. are we to create an environment where the yoke is hard work and the burden is heavy or dwell in the freedom that comes through Christ?

so where does my inadequacy lead into the role i am in today? it dwells in my conscience. being the body of Christ - just what the eucharist is meant to be - we're called to be the hands and feet, the sacrifice, the temple to a world in darkness.

my heart cries out for those who miss it. many christians miss it. they miss the freedom that's to come because of Christ's blood. (ephesians 2:12-13) they miss the calling that we have in the Kingdom.

how are we to live in a Kingdom that burdens the sheep? how are we to be the ones creating the burdens because the sheep listen to us? where is the freedom that comes from that? it's almost as though we're just helping them hop from slave ship to another slave ship, just covering the name on the boat that makes them think they are free.

i do not have a clear conscience. at this moment i am inadequate.